Organizer Information
Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis (French Academy in Rome) is a French cultural institution based at the historic Villa Medici in Rome, Italy. Each year, the Academy organizes an international competition to select artists, authors, and researchers for a 12-month residency dedicated to creation, experimentation, and research. The programme welcomes established practitioners working across artistic, literary, craft, academic, and heritage-related disciplines.
Title & Description
Villa Medici Residency 2027–2028
Villa Medici 2027–2028 Fellows Residency is an international competition for established French-speaking artists, authors, and researchers seeking to develop a substantial creative, research, or experimental project during a year-long residency in Rome.
Selected fellows are hosted at Villa Medici from September 2027 to August 2028, where they are expected to pursue the project presented in their application. Applications are accepted across literary and artistic creation, arts and crafts, art history and theory, and the restoration of works of art or monuments.
From 2027, one fellow specializing in art history will also have the opportunity to participate in a one-year post-residency programme at the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA).
Categories
- Visual Art
- Film & Video
- Photography
- Literature
- Writing
- Performing Arts
- Music
- Arts & Crafts
- Art History
- Art Theory
- Research
- Restoration, and interdisciplinary artistic practices.
There is no quota by discipline, and applicants should select the discipline that best corresponds to their proposed project.
Eligibility
The competition is open internationally to established French-speaking artists, authors, and researchers, regardless of nationality.
Applicants must:
- Be over 18 years old on the application deadline.
- Speak French.
- Already be professionally active in their field.
- Submit a detailed project proposal explaining their research, intended work, motivation, and reasons for undertaking the residency.
- Apply only once per competition.
- Not have previously been a fellow of the French Academy in Rome.
Knowledge of the Italian language and culture is recommended. Group projects are permitted; each selected participant receives an individual residency grant.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Selected fellows receive a 12-month residency at Villa Medici in Rome, including free accommodation. Depending on availability, fellows may also receive an individual workspace or shared workstation for the duration of their stay.
- Residents have access to shared facilities including a library, woodworking workshop, photographic laboratory, and fellows' lounge. Production materials and project expenses are the responsibility of the fellow.
- According to the programme FAQ provided, the residency grant is €42,000 gross for the year (€3,500 per month). The grant is subject to applicable social-security contributions and taxation.
- The Academy also provides a €2,000 lump-sum allowance for round-trip relocation costs and a €250 round-trip travel allowance. Under certain conditions, the Academy may additionally provide up to €10,000 TTC in co-financing for an eligible production project after the residency, provided that an external co-producer contributes at least an equivalent amount.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 16 October 2026
- Residency Period: September 2027 – August 2028
- Post-Residency Art History Programme: One selected art history fellow may participate in a subsequent one-year programme at INHA.
Location
Villa Medici, Rome, Italy
Additional Details
The residency is a full-time commitment. Regular salaried or freelance professional activity, management of an organization requiring continuous involvement, or another residency or grant requiring simultaneous presence or production may be incompatible with the programme.
Fellows receive artist-author in-residence status. Applicants should therefore consider the social-security and taxation implications of the residency grant. The Academy does not provide a separate production budget during the residency; production expenses must be covered from the residency grant.
Applications are evaluated by a jury chaired by the Director of the French Academy in Rome and including representatives of the French Ministry of Culture and six qualified personalities.